New York City Mayor Eric Adams has been indicted on charges of bribery and campaign finance violations related to his connections with Turkish officials, federal prosecutors announced.
According to reports in the US media, the 57-page indictment accuses Adams of accepting illegal donations and luxury gifts from Turkish nationals in exchange for expediting the construction of the Turkish consulate in the city, among other favors.
The charges, which date back to 2014, when he was the Brooklyn Borough president, allege that Adams received tens of thousands of dollars in free travel and other perks from Turkish sources. Notably, Adams reportedly paid only $600 for a stay in a luxury suite at the St. Regis Hotel in İstanbul, where the actual cost would have been 7,000 dollars per night.
Another incident involved pressure on the New York Fire Department to approve the opening of Turkey’s built 36-story consulate in Manhattan, despite safety concerns. The building, which had not passed its fire inspection, was allowed to open ahead of a visit by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in September 2021.
The mayor’s 2021 campaign allegedly funneled foreign donations through US citizens to obscure their source. This enabled Adams to qualify for 10 million dollars in public financing through New York’s campaign matching funds system.
Adams denies charges
At a press conference yesterday, Adams denied charges and said he wouldn’t quit as the mayor. Having become the first New York City mayor to face criminal charges while in office according to US media reports, he vowed to fight the charges in court.
Despite calls for his resignation, Adams insists that he did not accept illegal donations and that the perks he received were typical for frequent travelers and VIPs.
Federal investigators continue to probe Adams' administration, with several top city officials recently resigning. This includes Police Commissioner Edward Caban and Schools Chancellor David Banks, both of whom had their phones seized as part of the investigation.
The US land acquisition in Ankara
Özgür Özel, leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), has downplayed the allegations, saying that Turkey wouldn’t need to give bribes for a consulate building.
Özel, who was in New York to participate in the Socialist International Presidium meeting, told reporters yesterday, “Turkey is not a country that needs to give bribes while such a building is being constructed here, it is not in such a weakness.
“It is not befitting for anyone representing the Republic of Turkey to intend such a thing. If we made any gesture in the process of acquiring such a building, it was for the great area allocated to the US Embassy. This cannot be measured with money and stamps, strong alliance relations require this.”
The land acquisition Özel mentioned took place in 2014, stirring controversy in Turkey at the time. The US had purchased a 37,000-square-meter plot from Turkey’s Housing Development Administration (TOKİ) located on land associated with the Atatürk Forest Farm (AOÇ), established by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the republic. Critics argued that the transaction violated regulations protecting the Atatürk Forest Farm, a historically significant and environmentally protected area.
Also, the Ankara Branch of the Chamber of Architects was denied access to the sales protocol, which was classified as a "commercial secret." It was only revealed in 2017 that the sale took place for 88 million US dollars. Despite the controversy, the US completed construction, and in 2022, officially relocated its embassy to the new building. (VK)